Over the past three years, 17 high school football players have died after sustaining head injuries while playing. A similar situation in the NFL would have caused a national uproar, so how has this been allowed to happen to our youth?

Take a look at trailer for this riveting episode of HBO’s series Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, which is airing several times on HBO through mid-December 2016, as well as On Demand. The episode as a whole explores why there are such inconsistencies in protecting professional athletes versus the youngest players.

Lots of myths and misinformation exist about how parents and coaches can supervise the recovery of a child’s concussion. Some of the most common ones stem from advice that was given years ago. But better understanding of brain injuries and new imaging technology has changed how concussions are treated. Here’s what NOT to do when managing your child’s injury.

1 — Waking Every Hour or Two
Decades ago, physicians and clinicians encouraged parents to wake up their concussed children frequently to monitor their mental status. However, with modern imaging and clinical evaluations, patients who have been cleared by a concussion specialist can sleep soundly. In fact, remaining asleep 12, 15 or even 20 hours following a head injury is actually helpful, restful, and promotes faster recovery.

2 — Return to the Game Too Soon
Most concussion laws in every state have a provision in which a child is removed from play when a concussion is suspected and can only be cleared to return by a concussion specialist. Unfortunately, clinicians will periodically encounter an overly ambitious parent wanting to return his or her child to play prior to making a full recovery from the concussion. Depending on the timing, this can be exceedingly dangerous. If it is too soon, the child may be in danger of secondary impact syndrome, which can be fatal.

3 — Keep Away from Friends and Electronic Devices
Socialization is an important part of adolescent development. Keeping a child completely isolated from friends and electronic devices can lead to a sense of isolation, and in some cases, even depression. Clinicians and parents need to be mindful of balancing remediation with a young person’s sensitive self-esteem.

4 — Promote Completely Inactivity and Darkened Rooms
Although some rest is thought to be useful from 48 to 72 hours after the head injury, extensive rest and inactivity in a dark room is actually thought to do more harm than good. The brain can actually have more difficulty to returning to normal activity following an extensive period of inactivity.

A number of research articles suggest that women are more susceptible to mild Traumatic Brain Injury. In fact, female college athletes have a higher rate of concussion compared to males when playing soccer (2.1 x greater risk), softball versus baseball (up to 3.2 x greater risk), and basketball (up to 1.7 x greater risk). So, why the difference? Research and anecdotal evidence has turned up three possible reasons: cultural differences; hormonal differences, or physiological differences.

Canada forward Christine Sinclair (right) and USA midfielder Carli Lloyd head the ball during the 2016 CONCACAF women’s Olympic soccer tournament at BBVA Compass Stadium in Huston, Texas, on February 21. Soccer is also among those sports programs that produce a large share of concussions for female athletes. — Reuters

Some experts have said part of the reason for increased concussions in females may be due to the reporting rate — that women are more likely than men to notify a coach they are injured, whether due to a head injury or other concern. Cultural differences indeed indicate a reluctance among males to report any injuries for fear of being removed from play. However, because of the very nature of concussion being a clinical diagnosis that usually depends on self reporting, it is hard to say that the incidence differences between the genders is due to honesty.

Other research suggests that hormones including estrogen, oxytocin, progesterone, and testosterone, affect recovery times from concussion. Of course, men and women have vastly differing levels of these hormones. One published study from the University of Rochester (NY) has also shown that menstrual cycles play a part in healing from head trauma. The research showed that women in child-bearing years experience greater cognitive decline, delayed reaction times, extended periods of depression, more headaches, and longer hospital stays and return-to-work plans compared to men following head injury.

Other research suggest that there are different neuronal connections between the hemispheres and significant lobes within the cerebral cortex for men and women potentially influencing recovery time. A recent Georgetown University Medical Center study showed that mice with a single head injury temporarily lose 10 to 15 percent of the neuronal connections in their brains, which can be repaired when at least a week of rest is provided. The fact that male and female brains are “wired” differently could account for a higher incidence of and/or a longer healing period after brain injury in women.

Realistically, interplay of all of these factors could potentially influence the differences in concussions between the number of concussions of female athletes and their recovery.

Periodically when I’m seeing patients in our HeadFirst concussion clinics, parents will ask me about a different brain trauma-related studies that they’ve heard about. These questions range from studies about concussion-healing chocolate milk to eye tracking devices to the effectiveness of helmets and different sports bands preventing head injuries. Presently, NO concussion treatments have been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Likewise, the FDA has yet to approve of any devices that prevent concussions in the first place. No helmets, no mouth guards, no sports band or other piece of technology in any way shape or form has been demonstrated to completely prevent concussions.

I typically advise parents to be extremely cautious with new research or technology, or with the promises of concussion treatment. Instead, parents should seek out a concussion specialist who has years of experience treating these injuries and utilizes multiple methods in their assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning.

Regardless of age and profession, motor vehicle accidents and falls are the most common ways that people can sustain traumatic brain injuries. Even first responders – police, fire, and ambulance crews – regularly go into harm’s way and risk personal injury that includes concussions, as recently happened when two firefighters in New Jersey slipped while jumping off their fire engine at a house fire.

Even firefighters and other first responders are vulnerable to concussions (Photo: AP/Wide World)

Although sports like football, soccer, and lacrosse get a majority of the press about head traumas and traumatic brain injuries, most of the traumatic brain injuries that we see in HeadFirst Concussion clinics are due to everyday events such as slips and falls and motor vehicle accidents.

Some doctors tell me that the “concussion craze” is going to burn out soon. However, I think the way concussion specialists and medical providers diagnosis and treat traumatic brain injuries will continue to evolve. Other clinicians believe that education, evaluation and treatment of mTBIs will continue to grow in different directions.

Some considerations for the future may include:
– people who carry weapons, work with hazardous materials, or are employed in high-risk jobs could require baseline neurocognitive testing with their employment physical in the event they suffer a brain injury
– schoolchildren of all ages, including the elementary school level, may receive education, baseline testing, while training may be required for all parents and coaches about traumatic brain injuries (it is presently only required for high school kids)
– employers may insist employees to get baseline neurocognitive testing prior as a condition of employment

What we have found in HeadFirst Concussion clinics is that 60-70% of mTBIs are not sports related and more than 95% of our injured patients have not had baseline neurocognitive testing. While concussions continue to make the news and diagnosis increase as public awareness spreads, we encourage people of all ages to schedule a baseline neurocognitive test.

CTE’s connection to football has been in the news for five years now, with a debate centered around whether the number of concussions will affect long-term health and well-being of those playing the sport. Likewise, I’m constantly asked by patients and parents what the future effect of this or future concussions will be on their health. A recent study released by researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine (such as Dr. Robert Cantu, Dr. Ann McKee, Chris Nowinski and others) will probably give moms and dads across America a moment of pause before starting a collision sport like football or hockey.

An answer may lie in a concept developed by these researchers called the Cumulative Head Impact Index (CHII). They found individuals who had more hits to their heads—regardless of whether they had a concussion or not, were significantly (i.e., not even close…a large statistic margin) more likely to experience later-life cognitive problems, apathy and depression. The caution here is that the sample size was only 93 individuals and the exposure was only to football.

The next step is for medical providers and concussion specialists to help families begin to connect the dots throughout the developmental hurdles of a child’s life. For example, the health outcomes for two 7th grade beginning hockey players if they have a different history. One student may have fallen off a changing table as an infant and suffered a skull fracture, have been in a motor vehicle accident, and have fallen multiple times during winter sports, while the other 7th grader may not have suffered any head injuries or significant head trauma. Baseline neurocognitive testing like the ImPACT® test might look different on these two young students, and the outcome and recovery time of any current injuries sustained by each of them could be considerably different.

I’ve often said that kids can’t live in a bubble as much as parents are sometimes inclined to want to wrap their kids in bubble wrap. Young people—really, people of all ages—are going to be in car accidents, bike accidents, and slip and fall just going through life. Parents need to make their own unique, informed decision about how much additional risk of physical injury to which they want to expose their child, given his or her medical history and athletic abilities.

The topic of mild traumatic brain injury and/or concussion has been in the news for several years. The release of a major motion picture, a concussion sustained by a professional sports star, or the passage of a law tends to rekindle interest in the topic. Recently, another issue was linked to concussion — the concern of suicide. But, I am optimistic. Why? By nature, I’m an optimist, but I’m also hopeful that parents, community leaders and politicians will pay attention to the epidemic of suicide in our country.

When I worked in the U.S. Navy, one of my careers was serving as their Suicide Prevention Program Coordinator. Every death by suicide crossed my desk. The number of Marines and Sailors who attempted and completed suicide staggered me.

In our country, the number of people — servicemembers or civilian — who die by suicide is almost too much to comprehend. Compared to 16,000 homicides each year in the U.S., the number of suicides is nearly double that at almost 32,000 a year, most due to untreated depression of some form.

Let’s put those numbers in another perspective: In the last decade of our troops fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, just over 7,000 Americans have made the ultimate sacrifice and almost 50,000 have been wounded. During that same time, more than 300,000 have died by suicide and more than 50,000 have been children between the ages of 14 and 24. The number of suicide attempts is in the millions.

Researchers are also finding out that some of the consequences of concussion are linked to depression and suicide. Untreated brain injuries can lead to devastating consequences.

My optimism lies in the hope that coaches, parents, athletes, and community leaders understand that the physiology of a concussion caused by a blow to the head or body prompts the neurons to function ineffectively due to a disruption of their normal chemical process.

I’m optimistic that these same parents, coaches, athletes, and community leaders will make the connection that the neurological process of a concussion is to depression. That these neurons which govern our emotions and self-esteem for a variety of different reasons — the death of a loved one, loss of a job, bankruptcy, medical conditions — can lead to a disruption of the neurons and cause depression leading to suicide.

I’m optimistic that the people who form every individual’s support system, from parents and teachers to friends and fellow athletes, will ACT if something seems amiss:
A — ask an individual if he or she is thinking about suicide
C — let him or her know you care about them
T — get the individual to treatment with someone who specializes in suicide evaluations: a counselor, pastor or chaplain, family doctor or pediatrician, psychologist, or psychiatrist or local emergency room

I’m optimistic that people will realize that depression can be considered the “common cold” of psychiatric conditions and has a variety of effective treatment options.